Americans' Views on Replacing the ACA

In the wake of congressional Republicans’ struggle to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), enthusiasm for dismantling President Obama’s signature legislation is diminishing, according to a new survey by The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Fifty-nine percent of Americans say they would like the ACA to be kept in place, an increase from 53 percent who said the same in January 2017. Forty percent say they would like the ACA to be repealed, including 13 percent who say the law should be repealed immediately and 26 percent who say the law should be repealed only when a replacement law is ready.

Half of Americans express support for the ACA while 33 percent oppose the legislation. Sixteen percent neither support nor oppose the ACA.

There is bipartisan support for negotiation on health care. Seven in 10 Americans say both Republicans and Democrats should reach across the aisle and collaborate on health care legislation. This includes 77 percent of Democrats, 65 percent of independents, and 65 percent of Republicans.

The nationwide poll was conducted July 13-17, 2017 using the AmeriSpeak® Panel, the probability-based panel of NORC at the University of Chicago. Online and telephone interviews using landlines and cell phones were conducted with 1,019 adults. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.